Eyre Peninsula Gateway Project – Demonstrator Stage
Eyre Peninsula Gateway Project – Demonstrator Stage
| Main proponents:
The Hydrogen Utility (H2U) |
Main end-use classification:
Industrial process – ammonia production |
Status:
Under development |
Estimated cost:
AUD$240 million (Demonstrator stage) |
| Other involvement:
|
Production details:
Hydrogen production – up to 10,000 tonnes per annum |
Location:
South Australia, Australia |
Announced funding:
AUD$4.5 million (Grant) – South Australian Government Renewable Technology Fund AUD$7.5 million (Loan) – South Australian Government Renewable Technology Fund |
Summary:
The initial (Demonstrator) stage of this project plans to integrate a 75 megawatt (MW) electrolysis plant and a 120 tonnes per day ammonia production facility largely for domestic supply, with the potential for later expansion through an Export Stage.
Project description:
The H2U is an Australian technology company focusing on the development of hydrogen infrastructure from renewable energy sources.
The original scope of the project was to integrate a 15 megawatt (MW) electrolyser plant, a distributed ammonia production facility (with a production capacity of up to 18,000 tonnes annum) and a 10 MW hydrogen-fired gas turbine and 5 MW hydrogen fuel cell. The facilities were to be located near Port Lincoln in South Australia. Thyssenkrupp was awarded a contract to undertake a feasibility study for this scope.
During the course of 2020, H2U identified an opportunity to redefine and enlarge the scope of the project.
The enlarged project includes an initial (commercial-scale) Demonstrator stage that would integrate a 75 MW electrolysis plant and a 120 tonnes per day ammonia synthesis facility; the Demonstrator stage would have a total production capacity of up to 10,000 tonnes of renewable-based hydrogen per annum and 40,000 tonnes of (renewable-based) ammonia per annum.
The Demonstrator facility would supply domestic markets, and support trial export shipments of renewable-based hydrogen and ammonia to Asian markets.
The cost of the Demonstrator stage is estimated at AUD$240 million. This stage of the project has received financial support from the South Australian Government (both grant and loans based) through earlier provided support for the originally scoped project.
It was originally intended for the project to be located near Port Lincoln; however, the redefined project has necessitated a change of location on the Eyre Peninsula closer to Whyalla (in the Cultana / Port Bonython area).
The project has completed the feasibility study, site selection and preliminary planning activities. In March 2021, it was announced that Worley had been awarded the engineering services contract to perform the front-end engineering design (FEED) studies for the Demonstrator stage of the project.
The project would look to a later expansion through an Export stage, with a potential for up to 2,400 tonnes per day of renewable-based ammonia production (equivalent to around 200,000 tonnes of hydrogen per annum or 1.5 GW electrolysis capacity).
In April 2021, RWE Supply and Trading and H2U announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to develop hydrogen trading links between Australia and Germany.
Milestones:
February 2018: The South Australian Government awards AUD$4.5 million in grant and AUD$7.5 million in loan support to the originally scoped Eyre Peninsula project through its Renewable Technology Fund (such support now applicable to the Demonstrator stage of the expanded project)
November 2020: An expanded Eyre Peninsula project is highlighted in media reports
March 2021: Worley awarded engineering services contract to perform FEED studies for the Demonstrator stage of the project.
This description is based on publicly available information as at April 2021.
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